I have returned! Here is the next and final chapter of this little tale. I honestly can't thank you all enough for following, favoriting, and reviewing this story. You guys have encouraged me far more than you all could ever understand.
I meant to add this into the author's note at the end of the previous chapter, but I just completely forgot. That scene with Roy and Riza snuggling with Ed at the end was inspired by a fic called Parental Instincts by snowilsadmiral. If anyone has not read it, I highly encourage it. The author is a wonderful human being, and I would like to thank her for inspiring that little scene!
Anyways, on with the end of the story!
I still do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. I just own my cult… please don't run away and join a cult.
"Are you sure you're up for this, Colonel? We can do the interrogation later, or I could have someone else do it."
Roy stared straight ahead as he walked by General Grumman's side through the halls of the hospital.
"No," he stated firmly. "He's finally awake. I want answers, and I want them now."
The General didn't bother saying anything else. Nothing was going to change his subordinate's mind on the matter.
It had already been hard enough to keep the Colonel away from the corporal that finally came forward and admitted to leaking the military's suspicion of the cult. It was the very corporal that picked the Colonel and First Lieutenant up from the train station in Freyvale. The father of the latest female victim had been at the train station, waiting to pick up family traveling in for the girl's funeral. Apparently, the corporal was trying to comfort the distraught father and assured him that the military was involved to find out who killed his daughter and was currently investigating the Disciples of the Moon.
Roy had been furious.
It took Riza assuring him that the corporal would suffer the consequences of his actions when they returned to Eastern Command and that his time was better spent helping tend to his injured subordinates to stop him from confronting the man.
The second General Grumman notified him that Absalom was awake, he followed his commanding officer without any questions.
When they reached their destination, the two stopped and stared at the door in front of them. The soldiers guarding it moved aside instantly.
Without saying anything, the Colonel barged into Absalom's room.
Grumman sighed. He had a feeling they would finally have some answers, but he also had a feeling neither of them would like what they were going to hear.
*break*
"Brother…."
Al couldn't help but be horrified by his brother's physical state when Falman led him to Ed's room. The younger Elric had been worried sick since Riza called him the previous night and told him to get Freyvale as fast as possible.
While she hadn't told him everything, Al knew his brother had gotten into quite a bit of trouble.
Of all the injuries he could think of his brother obtaining, nothing could have prepared him for the sight waiting for him.
Ed was sitting up in his hospital bed. His leg was in a cast and elevated on a pillow. He wasn't wearing shirt, so there wasn't anything to hide the plethora of bandages covering Ed's stomach and back.
Riza was sitting next to the injured alchemist on the bed, finishing and tying off his hair in the trademark braid. Jean was in a chair beside the bed, looking both exhausted and relieved.
Ed's eyes widened in surprise when he saw his brother, then he grinned.
"Hey, Al! How's it—"
"I thought I told you to be careful before you left!" Al yelled. "What did you do this time, brother?"
Ed winced as his younger brother yelled at him. The First and Second Lieutenant chuckled at the exchange between the two. They should have expected nothing less.
"Alphonse, it might be hard for you to believe, but Ed actually wasn't doing anything reckless," Riza spoke up.
"It's true," Havoc chimed in. "Because of your brother, we saved the lives of hundreds of people."
Despite not having facial expressions, they could all tell the younger Elric suddenly felt guilty. He slowly approached Ed.
"Oh…then what happened?"
Ed let out the breath he didn't realize he had been holding. He would never admit it, but Al could scare him when he was worried or upset that he did something stupid. He wasn't too sure Al would believe him if he tried to defend himself. At least he had the two military officers to vouch for him. He gave his brother a wry grin and scratched the back of his head.
"Well, Al, it's kind of a long story…."
*break*
The General and Colonel stared at the badly burned man in the hospital bed. Absalom's wrists were carefully bound to the sides of the bed. Even though he wasn't in any position to try to escape, he was an alchemist. It was definitely better to be safe than sorry.
If Grumman was honest, he was surprised his subordinate had left Absalom alive. They did still have questions they needed answers to, but this was the man that tortured Ed and nearly got all of them killed.
The General wouldn't have blamed Roy in the slightest if he had let Absalom burn alive.
However, Absalom was probably wishing he was dead. Horrendous burns covered his entire body.
Both of them were shocked to hear Absalom had awoken. The man stared at them with pain-filled, tired eyes.
"I see the Flame Alchemist decided to pay me a visit," Absalom got out before he was taken over by a coughing fit.
His voice was wheezy and weak. It might have been a struggle for him to talk, but he could still answer their questions.
"I think you know why I'm here."
"Where are my brothers?" Absalom demanded before Roy could start interrogating him.
"Corinthian's in the room next door, but Jeremiah's dead in case you forgot about that."
Absalom winced.
"Where's Jonathan?"
"Dead. He perished when he set the Sanct on fire. Now, how about you answer some of our questions? You could start by telling us where you got those books we found in your library."
Absalom remained silent.
The Colonel smirked. A part of him had been hoping Absalom would decide to be difficult. Without hesitating, he stepped forward and grabbed the burned flesh on his arm. Absalom let out a strangled cry at the sudden agony.
"If you tell us what we want to know, I'll—"
"Fine!" the murderer roared.
Roy let go, not surprised it didn't take much to get him to talk. That man maliciously tortured his subordinate, but couldn't take the pain himself.
Absalom was a true coward.
After a few ragged breaths, he spoke again.
"Honestly, I don't know where those books came from. I don't even know who built the compound. Jonathan never knew." He slightly choked up as he mentioned his deceased mentor. "Jonathan found it and shared his knowledge with me. He was meant to. We were chosen to find a successful theory for human transmutation."
Roy was slightly unsettled. No one knew who came up with the sick and twisted theory of sacrificing a human to bring another back.
On second thought, he wasn't sure he wanted to know who would come up with such an idea.
"We found salvia in the garden surrounding the Sanct," Roy continued. "Did you drug Corinthian Jeremiah so they would have visions like you claimed to have?"
"Not at first," Absalom admitted. "My brothers were always careless. They made tea with salvia leaves on multiple occasions while we were out in that forest. While they were hallucinating, they thought the moon was speaking to them. They eventually wrote down what they thought they saw and heard. Even when they weren't hallucinating, they thought the moon was trying to communicate with them.
"I thought they might have been crazy. We had been wandering around in that forest for so long that I thought they were just finally losing it. It wasn't until we found a few people camping, just like us, that I found Jonathan and I's opportunity. My brothers have always had a knack for telling stories. As they told those campers what they had been seeing and hearing from the moon, I realized that those people actually believed them. The next day, they brought others out to the forest to hear my brothers' tale. I'll never understand what made those people believe my brothers, but I couldn't turn down an opportunity.
"I eventually led everyone to the compound, what they would then decide to call the Sanct. Corinthian and Jeremiah despised alchemy, probably because they could never understand it. That's why I always snuck off after they had fallen asleep to research with Jonathan. That's why we made sure to hide all of the books. We didn't want to scare any of them off. We would eventually need those people for when we were ready to attempt human transmutation. It took years of research before we finally gained the courage to try out the first array. By that point, the congregation had grown to nearly two hundred members and was still growing. We practically had an endless supply of test subjects."
Roy nearly shuddered at the answer. How someone could see other humans as nothing more than test subjects was beyond his understanding and disturbed him more than he was willing to admit. A quick glance at General Grumman told him the man was thinking the same thing.
At least they were finally getting some answers.
"Why did you leave the Disciples of the Moon?" Roy continued.
"Jonathan and I ran into a few obstacles in those books. Not all of them had been translated. We travelled around Amestris, searching every library we could find to help us translate the rest of the books. We returned once we were finished."
"Why did you go through with the whipping? I heard your brothers didn't want you to."
That was something Roy never understood. If Corinthian and Jeremiah were willing to spare their brother the punishment, why didn't he take advantage of that opportunity? He'd seen how the whipping had reduced Ed's back to a mess of mutilated flesh. He didn't even want to think about how long it was going to take the kid to completely recover.
Absalom chuckled, but it was dry and lacked any real humor behind it.
"It showed that even I wasn't exempt from punishment. If I abided by 'the Moon's' rules, the rest of the congregation would see my devotion and be more willing to follow me despite leaving them for a few years. It looked like I actually repented of my sins against 'the Moon'. When it came time to start our experiments, no one even questioned 'the Moon' choosing who it did solely because I gave them the news. It was definitely worth it. However, I have to say it was much more fun delivering that punishment to Edward."
Roy tensed and grit his teeth. He felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Roy, you need to calm down," Grumman hissed in his ear.
The Colonel took a deep breath. His superior was right; however, the satisfied smirk on Absalom's burnt face did nothing to quell his desire to strangle him with his bare hands.
"I briefly considered keeping the Fullmetal Alchemist around to help us with our research," Absalom continued. "However, Jonathan gave me some perspective. He obviously was not chosen to discover the true theory of human transmutation. Those metal limbs are evidence of his failure. He was not worthy enough to join us in our discovery."
"That didn't mean you had to torture him," the Colonel growled.
"Well what else was I supposed to do, Flame? He didn't help us narrow down which array to use. He needed to pay for hindering this advancement in alchemy."
"I think that's enough!"
The General wrapped his arms around Roy and had to practically carry him out of the room.
"General, let me go!"
Once they were out of the room and down the hall, Grumman released his subordinate.
"Colonel, you need to get a hold of yourself. I hate what Absalom did to Major Elric. I can't believe he would treat human life so cheaply that he only saw the congregation as subjects for his sick experiments. He deserves to be in so much more pain than he's in now, but I can't let you do anything. He's due to be transported to the prison in Central as soon as he's well enough to travel. If anything happens to him, you'll be the first person the higher-ups in Central will suspect. I won't have you getting into trouble over that poor excuse of a human."
Roy didn't protest the General's words. Deep down, he knew the man was right, but he wanted nothing more than to set Absalom aflame and make him suffer a slow, excruciating death. The man definitely deserved it, especially since he felt absolutely no guilt for murdering eight people and felt justified in torturing his youngest subordinate.
Hell, he even seemed to enjoy torturing Ed.
Grumman sensed the Colonel's inner battle.
"Roy," he said, putting his hands on the Colonel's shoulders, "I know this is hard for you. Jonathan and Absalom did unspeakable things. Jonathan is already dead. It might be awhile, but Absalom will get the punishment he deserves as well. Right now, the military needs to focus on helping the Disciples of the Moon find their way back home. Absalom and Jonathan took advantage of these people. They were looking for a place where they could belong. They wanted something that would give them hope. That's been ripped away from them. The victims...we need to notify their families of what really happened to them." He held up a hand when he saw Roy was about to interrupt. "We can handle that. You, Lieutenant Hawkeye, and Lieutenant Havoc need to rest. It's been a long couple of days for you all. However, I do request that at least one of you remain with Major Elric. I could hear the hell Absalom put him through. It might comfort him to have a familiar face by his side."
A private suddenly came running down the hall.
"General Grumman, there's a call for you from General Hakuro!"
The General turned on his heel and made to follow the private. Roy's eyes widened when he suddenly remembered Absalom's words.
"General, about what Absalom said…." he trailed off, hoping his commanding officer would catch on.
"I'll be there in just a minute," Grumman told the private before turning back to the Colonel. "As far as I'm concerned, the thought of being chosen to find the true theory for human transmutation drove Jonathan and Absalom into madness. I can't think of any other explanation for accusing a fifteen-year-old of committing the taboo. I know Major Elric is a prodigy, but even he couldn't attempt such advanced alchemy."
Roy nearly missed the smirk on his superior's face before he walked down the hall. He couldn't help but grin.
Ed and Al wouldn't have to worry about the higher-ups asking questions.
"Colonel?"
The clanking of armor echoed behind him. Before he turned around, he found himself in a bone-crushing hug and lifted off the ground.
"Al…please…put me down…." he gasped, unable to breathe.
"Oh, I'm sorry!"
Once the younger Elric set him down, he faced the overly affectionate suit of armor.
"It's just…thank you. Brother told me everything. He told me how he was bleeding out…but you cauterized the wounds. Y-You saved his life, Colonel. I don't know how I can ever repay you. He's all I have."
Roy grinned at the suit of armor and put a hand on his chest plate.
"There's nothing to repay, Alphonse," Roy said. "I'd do anything for my men, and that includes you and Fullmetal. However, I do have one request for you and your brother."
Al perked up.
"Anything! What is it?"
"I want you and Fullmetal to stop thinking you two are all alone. You guys have the strongest bond that I have ever seen. No one else will be as close to you two as you are to each other, but that doesn't mean you two are alone. There's an entire team in East City that's supporting you and would do anything they could to help you. You and Fullmetal need to remember that."
Being much more gentle, Al pulled the Colonel closer to him.
"Thank you, Colonel. We'll remember that, I promise."
The younger Elric released Roy from the hug. That's when the Colonel finally noticed the long-haired boy peeking out from behind the suit of armor.
"Zayne?"
"Hey, Wren! I mean, Roy! I'm sorry. I went to visit Ed earlier. Jean was still there. He told me about you and Riza being undercover."
The Colonel honestly didn't know what to say. He was shocked to see Zayne, but it wasn't an unpleasant surprise.
That kid believed him and Jean, despite what everyone else in the congregation thought. He was willing to help them evacuate the children out of the Sanct, even though there could have been repercussions if someone had reported him to the Jones brothers.
This kid was the bravest person he met in that entire congregation.
"I don't know how I can thank you, Roy," Zayne said. "Because of you, Zachary is still alive. I don't know if I could have handled losing my brother, especially knowing what happened to our father. He and my mom are taking his death really hard. I don't think they can believe they were being deceived this whole time."
Roy nodded.
"I'm sorry about your father, Zayne. I hope your family can find peace."
Zayne ruefully smiled.
"We will. I just wished we had left when he wanted to. He still might be here."
"What's your family going to do now?" the Colonel asked, genuinely curious.
"We're going back to North City. I think a lot of families from the congregation are going home as well. Some are in denial, though. They don't believe Brother Jeremiah's dead or that Brother Absalom had been performing alchemy this whole time. They're waiting for the Jones brothers to show up and continue leading them in the ways of the Moon."
Roy wasn't surprised in the slightest. Some of those people had been following the Jones brothers for several years.
Honestly, it made him sad.
As much as he hated the Disciples of the Moon for standing by and encouraging the brothers to torture Ed, a part of him knew they were practically brainwashed. He just wanted them all to return to their homes and try to fit in with the rest of society again.
The longer they stayed in denial, the longer it would take for them to move on with their lives.
"Well, Zayne, you were a great help to us by getting all of the children out of the Sanct. If you need anything, don't hesitate to let me know. Lieutenants Hawkeye, Havoc, and I will be more than willing to help your family out."
He extended his hand out to Zayne, who shook it gratefully.
"Thank you, but I don't think that will be necessary. We're getting on a train in the morning to North City. Some of the inns in Freyvale have offered the congregation a place to sleep until we can get home or figure out what to do next."
Roy nodded.
"Is there anything I can do?" Al asked the two. "Brother's asleep right now, but I know he would want me to do something to help."
Before Roy could even open his mouth, Zayne spoke up.
"If you want, you can come with me and play with some of the children. They don't really understand what's going on, and I think it's best to keep them occupied until their parents decide what to do."
"Okay!"
The suit of armor didn't hesitate to follow Zayne. The Colonel grinned. It didn't surprise him at all that those two had just met and already got along.
They were both great kids, after all.
He walked back to Ed's room. He noticed Jean was gone and Riza was practically falling asleep in the chair beside Ed's bed. He gently shook her awake.
"Why don't you get some rest? I can watch over him."
He didn't expect for his First Lieutenant to actually follow his suggestion, but she got up and left the room without needing to be told twice. Despite the sleep she had gotten last night, she still had to be exhausted. They all were. He also didn't expect for the young alchemist to start sitting up as Riza was leaving.
"Al told me you were asleep."
Ed rubbed his eyes. He was obviously still tired.
"I just can't seem to sleep for very long," he mumbled before finally looking at his commanding officer. "Zayne came by."
Roy smiled.
"He told me. He and Al ran into me in the hallway. He and his family are going back home to North City, but I'm sure he already told you that."
Ed managed a small grin, but it faded quickly.
"Do you know what's going to happen to the rest of the congregation?" he asked.
Of course Ed would be worried about them. Roy almost chuckled at the dark irony. The very kid that the Disciples of the Moon were encouraging the Jones brothers to sacrifice was the one that was probably worried about them most.
"From what Zayne told me, most of the families are going home. Some aren't sure where they're going yet, and some think the Jones brothers are going to return."
Ed visibly shuddered.
"What's going to happen to Corinthian and Absalom?"
"Corinthian will be spending a few years in the prison here in Freyvale. While he wasn't a part of the murders, he did help torture you and he has to suffer the consequences for that. Absalom will be imprisoned in Central. After his trial, he's probably going to receive the death penalty."
Ed's eyes narrowed at him.
"You talked to Absalom, didn't you?"
Much like the previous night, he had unconsciously crossed his arms. Based on Ed's reaction, he guessed that his gaze must have darkened considerably.
He nodded.
"Why…why did they do it?"
Roy took a deep breath.
"According to Absalom, no one knows who built that compound or wrote those books. He thought he and Jonathan were chosen to find them and come up with the true theory for human transmutation. I guess you could say they were crazy, but not religiously so as we had initially thought."
"So they thought they could just use the congregation for their experiments? That's just sick."
"For once, I completely agree with you, Fullmetal."
"Colonel, is it wrong…I mean I'm not happy that Jonathan is dead and Absalom probably will be too, but…."
Roy smiled at his subordinate.
"Fullmetal, it's not wrong to be grateful that they can't hurt anyone else. I don't think anything could have been done to stop them from their research. Dedicating years of their lives to study human transmutation drove them to insanity, especially studying a theory as dark as sacrificing another human to account for the soul. They preyed on people that were desperate to find hope. It's okay to be glad that Jonathan and Absalom aren't out there anymore."
Ed nodded.
"Thanks, Colonel."
"You're…are you cold?"
His brow furrowed when he noticed Ed shivering. The kid looked down, avoiding Roy's gaze.
That meant yes.
The Colonel also noticed Ed's eyelids starting to droop shut. It looked like he could fall asleep at any second.
"Do you want me to get you another blanket?"
Hesitantly, Ed shook his head. Roy tilted his head to the side. His subordinate was nervous.
"Fullmetal, it's not trouble at all for me to get you a blanket if…."
Oh.
He grinned as he remembered first sneaking into Ed's cell. He'd held Ed in his lap to keep him warm. It had taken him awhile, but he recalled Ed finally being able to relax and seem almost comforted by the embrace.
Then the previous night with him and Riza, he'd actually looked at peace.
"I could hear the hell Absalom put him through. It might comfort him to have a familiar face by his side."
General Grumman was completely right. There was no doubt in his mind that Ed would suffer nightmares for a long time after what he just went through. That's probably why he was having trouble sleeping.
Not needing to be asked, he sat down next to Ed. He settled back against the pillows and gently wrapped his arms around Ed. The kid relaxed almost instantly, letting his head rest on the Colonel's chest. His eyes closed.
Sleep was coming to claim him quickly.
"If you want, we won't ever speak of this again," Roy joked.
Ed smiled.
"Thank you," he mumbled.
Roy stared down at the kid in his arms, happy that he could sleep peacefully. He certainly deserved it.
He thought back to Zayne. He was grateful that his family realized they didn't need to be part of that cult to find hope and peace.
He hoped the others would as well.
He hoped that they could see the Disciples of the Moon for what it truly was: a cult. The Jones brothers didn't have the key to the hope and peace they were looking for. They never had, and they never would.
They would have to embark on their own journey to find it, just like everyone else.
Well, there's the final chapter! I personally think Riza braiding Ed's hair is the cutest thing ever, so I had to include it. Also, sneaking in a little Parental!RoyAl in there. Had to do it. Couldn't skip it. And Zayne gets a semi-happy ending! That's nice. Then there's the fact that no one knows who built the Sanct or who came up with that terrible theory for human transmutation. Some things will always remain a mystery….
And Absalom and Jonathan were just insane. That's always exciting.
This story was beyond fun for me to write, and I love each and every one of you for being patient with me and sticking with me through this tale! It might interest you all to know that I named the Jones brothers after Jim Jones. If you don't know who he is, he led a cult and convinced his 900 followers to commit a mass suicide. He's basically the reason for the phrase "don't drink the Koolaid." He was…an inspiration I guess you could say.
I also need to announce that I am taking a hiatus from posting for a while, at least until the middle of May. Maybe the beginning of May? June? Honestly, I don't know. This semester is just getting insane as it's coming to an end. I'm still not sure what my plans for the summer are, classes are hell, and I'm getting stressed beyond belief. I just don't have near the time to write right now.
I promise, I have several ideas that I hope to work on when I find the time! There's a big-ish multi-chapter fic I've been wanting to write for a while that I'll hopefully start posting when I get the time to write it. I also have too many one-shots and short fic ideas for FMA and other fandoms jumbling around in my head to even think about quitting fanfiction.
I'm not entirely sure when I'll start posting again, but I promise I will come back! Hopefully sooner rather than later!
Until then,
alightintheshadows